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mmiron@bemidjipioneer.com

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The Beltrami County Board of Commissioners Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution to withdraw 2,198 acres east of Blackduck from the Red Lake Watershed and add the land to the Mississippi River Watershed. The land was incorrectly identified as being in the Red Lake Watershed. The problem was brought to the attention of the County Board by a county resident who owns land within the boundary to be changed.

Approximately 2,198 acres of land have been mistakenly identified as being situated within the Red Lake watershed when those acres are actually in the Mississippi River watershed. The Beltrami County Board of Commissioners will consider a resolution during the regular meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 5, to correct the watershed maps for each district. The County Board will meet in the County Administration Building, 701 Minnesota Ave.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and community innovators discussed opportunities for energy independence during the senator's stop in Bemidji Friday afternoon. Klobuchar said the United States has had several openings for renewable energy and efficiency initiatives, but hasn't followed up on them. The first recent impetus was after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when the country was united in its grief and outrage. Then gas price spikes offered another opportunity, but the public let it go by.

By about this time next summer, the Bemidji Regional Airport will be under the sweep of a Doppler radar system. On Wednesday, representatives from the Minnesota Department of Transportation Department of Aeronautics, National Weather Service, Grand Forks, N.D., Beltrami County Emergency Services, Bemidji Aviation, Bemidji Regional Airport, and Lakeland Public Television discussed the need and uses for the Doppler radar system in the Bemidji area. Currently, Bemidji has no radar system, but is covered by the edges of the Duluth system to the east and the Mayville, N.D., system to the west.

A 27-year-old Cass Lake man was charged Tuesday in Cass County District Court with serious felony second-degree intentional murder and two counts of felony second-degree assault. Ross Zangigabo Littlewolf was charged in relation to the shooting death Sunday, June 26, of Kandace Blaine Dunn, 22, of Cass Lake, who had been killed by an apparent gunshot wound to her head. According to the criminal complaint: At 3:16 a.m. Sunday, Cass County Dispatch received a report that Littlewolf had been involved in a domestic dispute at a Cass Lake residence.

A 51-year-old Bemidji business owner has been charged in Beltrami County District Court with three counts of felony credit card fraud and three counts of felony theft by swindle. The charges against Margaret Jo Hirt, owner and operator of Dewey Furniture, 201 Minnesota Ave. N.W., were filed Friday and signed by Judge Shari Schluchter. A court appearance date has not yet been set. According to the criminal complaint: Hirt has been the primary sales person for Dewey Furniture since 2008.

The "Did You Know..." special section in today's Pioneer was developed by the editorial staff to introduce - or in some case remind - readers of the unique character of the Bemidji area. Some unusual features include landmarks residents and visitors see every day. The Bemidji Public Library's unusual architecture, for example, is like no other in the world.

Beltrami County's budget for public assistance administration is $9,419,166, or 36.5 percent of the general fund. "That's by far our biggest area," said County Administrator Tony Murphy. If the state government shuts down July 1, the approximately 6,500 county residents who receive some kind of public assistance will lose their benefits for health care, food aid, rent, gas, utilities and other payments. John Pugleasa is the director of the Economic Assistance Division of Beltrami County Health & Human Services.

From ancient times, churches and their members have reached out in charity to help people in need. Bemidji churches have responded to calls for mission to disaster areas and informal assistance when members and nonmembers face hard times. In the last decade, several church outreach programs have become more formalized and organized than traditional responses. Churches United In 2002, a group of leaders from a variety of Bemidji churches joined in their awareness of people seeking financial aid.